Sunday, March 27, 2011

DIY : Mason Jar Drop Lights

I've been eyeing the Edison style drop lights for a while now, and today I decided it was time I brought the style into our apartment. The project was actually pretty easy, and I'm really happy with the outcome.

1. Edison bulb; These can be found at Anthropologie, but I found this one for about half the price at Butter Home , in the Melrose Market.
2. Cord kit; I bought this one on sale a while ago at UO, but they have them everywhere, including Ikea.
3. Vintage mason jar; I found this particular one at the Seattle Trading Post.
4. Cordless Drill (my baby)
5. Pliers
6. Hammer

1. Drill holes as close together to one another as possible, around a traced circle.
2. Hammer the middle to pop out the center, and use the pliers to bend jagged edges.
3. Attach the cord by unscrewing the plastic top and sliding the lid one. Re-screw onto other side of the lid.
Lastly, put it all together! Add the bulb, put the lid on the jar, and presto, you have a DIY mason jar drop light!

Thank you for bringing that up! Yes, that's something that's been brought to my attention that I overlooked. Although I haven't actually had an issue with them, it's smart of drill a few more holes around the perimeter of the opening to allow air to flow.

no UL listing for that use, if a fire accurs the house will not be covered by home owners ins. your giving out dangerus advice, how did you connect it to power you didnt show that, if you plugged it in then its considered temporary lighting and has to be removed in 30 days

I can see one light cord hanging in the corner and the other is coming down between the pictures. You must be kidding about removing them in 30 days. It's a lamp! Does that mean My insurance won't cover my home if a table lamp catches the house on fire. That's just bull. No one goes around unplugging their table lamps every 30 days. In the 70's it was all the rage to swag a plug in type pendant light over your table or hang one on the wall. Still a good idea, this just looks more modern/yet vintage too! Love this!!

This is really effective. Can I ask if you would allow me to feature this reuse project on our reuse design site. We are a new, UK organisation called Co-oproduct who are passionate about packaging Reuse, please see: www.co-oproduct.org (and facebook: www.facebook.com/cooproduct).

I think this is a great reuse project example, and would love to share it on our website. We would provide all credits/links to your own work and this great blog!

So cool! What do you use to hang it from on the ceiling? I have a fixture I would like to take down and replace with this. Also-I have a light in my entry that is a big glass bubble with an edison bulb and it has no air flow...hasn't exploded yet. I bought that at lowes.

Good to know about the light you bought, I haven't had any issues with mine either, so I feel alright about it. As for hanging, I just used a standard swag hook, which you can buy from any hardware store, it's essentially a threaded hook that twists directly into the ceiling. It's a good idea to find a stud, though I honestly just screwed directly into the drywall.

Sorry for the crazy late response, I somehow just saw this question! :)

I was wondering about them overheating too, but now that I think of it, we had several light fixtures that had round globes over them that didn't allow air flow and we never had a problem with them, so maybe they would be okay.

You can get plug-in dimmer cords at Ikea as well, that way you can adjust the brightness of the bulbs (not sure how dimming affects the life of Edison bulbs though). You can't dim compact flourescent bulbs, but you can dim some evergy efficient halogen bulbs. Make sure to ask the retailer if the buls you are using are dimmable.

Hello! I'm so sorry I forgot to write back! It's actually just hanging from a small hook in the ceiling, and then pulled over to the corner, so another small hook. I don't have pictures as I don't live there anymore :(

I made one of these before I saw these directions. I used an old pair of scissors to cut out the middle of the jars original lid (after making a hole in the middle to start it). Used tiny snips to make the edge nice and filed it a bit. Very small (about 9 watts) fluorescent twisty bulb and the jar hangs from a Tranform Ball hanger kit from Farm&Fleet. It hangs from a metal pole that goes across a small craft storage room I built and provides plenty of light! Used zip ties to keep the cord in place. It was a quart jar that dates to about 1933.

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